Friday, June 08, 2007

The British Army in Occupied Ireland is to have a public relations expert . He is a Mr. A. A. McLoughlin of Leigh-on-Sea , Essex , and he takes up duty this month . He spent December at the War Office in London being briefed on all aspects of his job in Occupied Ireland . Mr. McLoughlin was a Major in the British Army , serving with the 6th Airborne Division .

We have Andrew Kettle saying of Anna Parnell that "...she had a better knowledge of the social and political forces of Ireland than any person , man or woman , I have ever met . She would have worked the Land League revolution to a much better conclusion than her great brother ."

From the point of view of the men involved , the women's organisational and analytical potential was threatening and dangerous . As the author puts it , the women 'redefined resistance itself' . With evident relief the men forced the dissolution of the Ladies League in a sordid authoritarian manner , and then promptly rewrote history to trivalise and marginalise the role women had played .

Anna Parnell lived under an assumed name , died destitute and no member of her family attended her funeral : you will find no square named after her in Dublin or elsewhere . Yet the most important figure in this book from the point of view of contemporary reference is Hannah Sheehy Skeffington - she insisted that women's rights were a central part of the struggle and the revolution would be incomplete if they were set aside , however temporarily....... (MORE LATER).

Charles J. Haughey is not the kind of man you would choose to bring along on your holidays : his is an uneasy presence , there is a constant tension about him which is probably partly explained by his traumatic history and partly is due to his ambition . He wants to be 'Top Dog' , in the larger sense and in the smaller . All but the most superficial of encounters with him have this element of friction about them . His whole life is a mind game in which he tries to score points off pretty much everybody he comes in contact with .

He will lead you into situations in which he can put you down , make you feel small with little sarcastic asides and other devices - the encounter with 'The Sunday Times' journalist is a typical example . Once the parameters have been established , however , he will pick you up and is capable of being almost charming . Just so long as you know who's 'boss....' ! The man's personal political machine operates as a reign of terror - all his aides are afraid of their lives of him and will do almost anything to avoid his wrath .

In a Dublin shopping centre last week a little girl asked him for ballons . There had been some around earlier but they had all been given away . Haughey's aides looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders . Haughey clicked his fingers and said - " Balloons . Now . Get some . Find some . Steal some . Now . Balloons . " An estimated twenty people were killed in the rush ! He frequently does such things in public , showing up even his most loyal henchmen - his 'abrasive' (the usual euphemism) personality is undoubtedly in part attributable to the dichotomy which his position demands that he be ('1169...' Comment - ....or , more likely , to that which Haughey believed his elevated position demanded.).......(MORE LATER).